Bama and UGA: the Aftermath

The Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs went head to head December 1, 2018 for the SEC title. Hosted in the city of Atlanta for the second straight year, the match up was a win or go home situation for a playoff berth. Both teams needed to win, or their national championship hopes were over.

Head coach for the Georgia Bulldogs, Kirby Smart, commented in the post game conference,“It’s a tremendous atmosphere, and one of the best games of every year.” The number four ranked Georgia bulldogs were a 13-point underdog against the Tide, a team considered to be the best in the nation.

Hosted in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the game brought 80 thousand fans to the field and 20 million to their TV screens, being the most watched college football game in the 2018 season.

The match-up went down to the wire. Jalen Hurts, an Alabama QB that had been previously taken out of last year’s match-up against UGA, entered this year’s after Heisman candidate, Tua Tagovailoa, went down with a leg injury. Hurts led the Tide to a miracle victory on a 52 yard drive, only taking five plays to score the leading touchdown. The score placed the Tide ahead of Georgia for the first time in the game.

Asked if Georgia should be allowed a playoff spot, head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, Nick Saban commented, “I think they should be given a playoff spot even though

I don’t want to play them again.” Saben expressed his respect for a team that had just put the top ranked Tide on its heels.

Two days later, the NCAA committee ranked Georgia number five, making them the odd man out of the college football playoffs. The Bulldogs will host the number fourteen ranked Texas Longhorns in the Sugar Bowl, while the Crimson Tide play the number four ranked Oklahoma Sooners in the first round of the college football playoffs.